Tubing-catcher fob oil-wells ob the like



W. H. MCKISSICK.

TUBING CATCIIER FOR 0IL WELLS 0R THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED APR-1,192@

Il) I2) I RLissIILII Mall'. 29, 1921.

IIII

UNITED STATES WILLIAM H.

PATENT OFFICE,

MOKISSICK, OF TULSA, OKLAHOMA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO DUNNMANUFACTURING COMPANY, F OXNARD, CALIFORNIA.

TUBING-CATCHER FOB OIL-WELLS 0R THE LIKE.

Specication of Reissued Letters Patent. Reissued Man 29, *1921.

original No.1,2o1,4ss, dated october 17, 191e, serial No. 42,158, ma .my27, 1915. Application for rel issue led Ap'ril 1, 1920. Serial110.370,561.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be` it known that I, WILLIAM H. McKissrox, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Tulsa, in the county of Tulsa. and State ofOklahoma, have invented new and useful g Improvements in Tubing-Catchersfor Oil- Wells or the like, of which the following is a specification. 4This invention relates to certain improve.

'ments in tubing catchers for oil wells or the moved so as to expand orforce outwardly 1 jaws or dogs which thereupon become wedged against thecasing and serve to supi port theI tubing against further drop. Thesemeans so act in accordance with the principle which applies when twofalling-bodies are acted upon by an agency tending to separate them orforce one upwardly and' the 'other downwardly. In practising theinvention the string of tubing acts as one falling body, and the ljawsor dogs act as the other falling body or bodies, and a normallycompressed spring is provided which exerts a push 'downwardly upon thestring of tubing and upwardly on the jaws or dogs. As longas the stringof tubing, jaws or dogs and spring remain at rest, the jaws or dogs`occupy a normal position of retraction. The dogs or jaws are 4mounted tocoperate with wedges or a body having beveled or upwardly and outwardlyinclined^faces. It therefore results that when adrop of the severalmentioned parts takes place, including these wedges or the'part with theoppositely beveled faces, that the spring acts or exerts a tendency topush the tubing downwardly, together with the wedge portions upon it andto'push the jaws or dogs upwardly. In yother words, the tubing and wedgeportions will fall faster than lthe dogs or jaws, and the result is thatthe wedge portions force the dogs or jaws outwardly so that their teethare engaged with the casin of the well and firmly jammed or wedgedbetween the wedge portions and the casing thus supporting the string oftubi l with all the features mentioned,against fiii ther fall. It is tobe understood, however,

that the string of tubing with the attendant features mentionedmay belowered all tol gether slowly within the well casing, in bringing thestring of well tubing and other parts into proper position for service,or in adding extra lengths of well tubing to the strmg. If this be doneslowly .the eXpansion of the jaws or dogs will not occur. Also of coursethe string of tubing and attendant features may raised without causingthe wedging action of the jaws or dogs. At any time, however,either-,during the lowering of the string of tubing and attendantfeatures,

or during4 their normalpositioning in lthe well or casing, or during thewithdrawal or elevation 0 them in or throu h the well or its casing, ifa sudden drop o the string of tubing and the mentioned parts andfeatures takes place, there will occur the automatic action resulting ina wedgi of the jaws or dogs to support the stringlrl tubin andattendant, features. Thus, if a brea takes place in the string of tubingabove the Atubing catcher features mentioned, or the means suspendingthe string of tubing in the casing fails or breaks, the string of tubingand its attendant' parts will automatically be arrested and caught inthe casing after a very small initialdro ordinarily of from three tofive inches, an not moreH Prior to my invention others have ,attemptedto devise, and have devised devices for locking and holding tubing inoil wells but none of the same have been capable o the respects andunder all the conditions mentioned. Inasmuch as strings of tubing in oiland other wells are often of extreme length, at times three to four orfive thousand feet, it will be obvious that should such a string oftubing drop in a well or its casing, it must of necessity buckle andcorkscrew the tubing, destroy the structure of automatic action at allthe times and in all the well or the casing therein, or injure the same,destroy the pump barrel and pump rods which deliver oil through thetubing, or injure the same, and in any event c ause yto' a greater orlesser degree costly injury,

suspension of pumping operations, or. f requently irreparabledamage. Byprovidmg a string of tubing with my invention, these i where over 90,percent of tubi y As far as Y tubing,

untoward and` damaging and expensive re-` pensive results andoccurrences incident to tubing dropping, are entirely obviated, as hasbeen found in extensive practice. A rior attempt has been' made tolprovide a we tubing support utilizing a spring compressed between partsof a divided pump thesaid tubing being thusformed in two separatesections. To the best of my knowledge the device described and picturedin this patent was useless, inasmuch as it4 could not be used above thepump barrel, catchers are used, for the reason that the roken orinterrupted string of tubing provided an opening causing an air and oilleakage in the tubing. This would entirely prevent pumping. Furthermore,the spring could only expand as fast as further oil or air could getinto the spring chamber, and this retardation of action would preventsuiciently speedy catching operation, particularly under oil. LikewiseOsand and oil would accumulate in this spring chamber and interfere withthe action of the parts. I am informed, no device including .j such abroken or interrupted string of tubdescription, in one form,

ing with a spring compressed between the parts, was everV successfullyoperated,- although attempted` I have found thatthe invention organizedas I have described my invention in general terms has been extremelysatisfactory in service, and this formy of my tubin catcherhas become ingeneral the standar form of tubing catcher in service today. Likewise incertain respects the invention pertains to details of construction andthe combination and arrangement of the several parts of myimprovedtubing catcher for oil wells or the like whereby certainimportant advantages are attained. j

Further advantages of the present invention consists in its relativesimplicity and inexpensiveness of construction and itsgeneral capacityfor service under demands of widely varying conditions to be met with,

and superiority in durability and general service-ability.

The invention is disclosed in the following in its mechanical embodimentand in that formis shown in the drawing, and the inv ntion ,is finallypointed out in claims. means whereby the operation of the tubing catchermay be voluntarily 4'caused'to lock the string of tubing andattendantparts j in connection with the casing at any point in the well in whichit is so desired to position the same'. This, however, is `only afeatureof secondary importance.'i 4- It will be "understood that manyk varitions in construction and organization an relative arrangement of artsand features may be made .111. prectlsmg the invention,

. y. v x

justment ofthe sleeve I ikewise provide 7 acts in 'a dition to theexible bowed irons 6 and the jaws or slips 5 to exert nor- Figure l is avertical sectional view illusi trating a. tubing catcher and portion ofa string of well tubing constructed and com` bined in accordance with anembodiment of my invention; and,

Fig 2 is a view,

artly in elevation and partly in section, o

one extremity of said device as partially shown in Fig. 1.

Corresponding parts are nated throughout. j h As disclosed in theaccompanying drawing, tional similarly desigform disposed within thecasing 2.

n,My improved tubing catcher, as herein embodied, consists of thesleeve?) having the diametrically opposed beveled faces 4 with Ywhichco-act the slips or friction jaws or dogs 5, in a manner substantiallyidentical to that set forth in rin Patent No. 1,147 ,108 which.' wasgranted` uly 20,1915., and of which the present application is animprovement.

1 denotes a tubing sectio'n of convenl The sleeve Slis preferably fast uon the tubing 1. It will be understood t at the tubing 1 is ordinarilycomposed of a number of sections or lengths and that the pump rods (notshown) extend down through the same and operate a pump in a pump barrelat the lower' portion of' the well tubing. `These parts likewise are notshown, not lbeing part of the present invention. j

operatively engaged with and depending from vthe slips or jaws 5 are theflexible bowed irons 6 having their lowerextremities securedto thesleeve 7 suitably applied nto the tubing 1. Surrounding the tubing 1 ata predetermined point below the sleeve v7 is a second sleeve 8 capableof movement longitudinally of the tubing 1 and locked in a predeterminedmedium of the bindingscrews 9, said ad- 8 serving to regulate theposition ofthe slips 5. and the extentA of movement Vnecessary to bringthem' into operative position,`.it being understood that theY sleeve 7is capable of free movement longitudinali of thetubing 1.' The sleeveadjustment through the mally a compression or compressive action uponthespring 10. Under .normal {conditions the sleeve together with the irons6 and jaws 5 hwill place the spring 10 under slight compression,"whereby it will be perceived that the sprin l10 serves under 'nory malconditions to a ord a vibratory support for the sleeve 7 and itsconcomitant parts. e. l In the event'the tubing 1 should drop,

the said tubing and all of the elements carried thereby would fall byravity in accordance with the law of falling bodies. It will beremembered, however, that the spring 10 is normally compressed andmaintained under tension by the weight of theV slips 5, arms fand sleeve7. The respective ends of the coil spring 1() thus exert a downwardthrust upon the collarl 8, which is rigidly clamped upon the tubing, andan upward thrust upon the sleeve 7 which carries the slips or jaws 5.When the tubing drops the spring accordingly has a tendency toaccelerate' the fall of the tubing and to retard the fall of the slipsor jaws 5. Owing to the relatively large mass ofl 4the tubing 1,however, the action of the spring 10 in accelerating the drop thereof isreally negligible and the practical result is to retard the drop of theslips 5. There is thifs` arelative movement between the tubing 1 andslips 5 which causes the said slips to be expanded into engagement withthe casing tube by the action of the cone or wedge 3. The slips 5 arethus brought very quickly into engagement with the well casing with theresult that the tubing 1 is checked-in its fdownward movement andsupported within the casing by the slips Ybefore 1t has droppedsuiliciently far tov do any realdamage to the well. The extent of theVrelative movement between the slips 5 and the well tubing whichisnecessary before the slips enga the well tubing, is` regulated byadjusting the sleeve 8 up and down upon the tubingand the properadjustment for obtaining fuick action of the slips can be readily ma e.Of course, there is no relative movement of the slips and well tubingwhen the tubing is'moved slowly up and down within the casing, and thecatcher remains inactive at all times except when there is a rapid dropof the tubing, as when itb breaks or is accidentally released.

11 designates a nipple or coupling or collar serving as a union betweenadjacent extremities oftubing sections or lengths, andl -the same isshown as provided with' a lug 17 projecting within a slot 12substantially in the form of an inverted L formed `in the sleeve 1,5which surrounds the sleeves 7 and 8 and is approximately concentric withthe same and the tubing 1. Connected to the lower extremity of thesleeve 15 are outwardl bowed L'elongated springs 16 which frictionallyengage the inner wall of the casing 2. When the lug 17 is in the shortdownwardly directed extension v17a on thev short leg of the slot 12,which position the lug 17 is shown in Fig. 2 as about to assume,

' the catcher device is free to operate auto may be moved up andmatically and the tubin own in the casing. When, however, the tubing isslightl raised 66 to bring the lug into theu position s Vown in withsuch device` Fig. 2 and the tubing is then turned so that the lug 17 cantraverse the shorter leg of the L slot, and the tubing is then loweredso that the lug 17 travels down in the long vertical leg of the L slot,thevupper end` of the sleeve 15 is brought up against the Abowed ironsor arms 6 which in turn positively force the sleeve 7 and said bowedarms or irons 6 and the jaws or dogs 5 upwardly causing the jaws ordogs5 to be wedged between the wedge .surfaces or beveled faces 4 and thecasing, so as to support the string of tubing and attendant features andprevent its being lowered or prevent its falling. By reversing theseoperations last mentioned, that is. w'ith respect to the sleeve 15 andlug 17, and tubing `1, the lug may be brought back. into the ,positionlirst described, namely, within the slot extension 17, and the tubingcatcher device will be restored to condition `for automatic action. Inthe turning and raising or lowering of the tubing described the frictionsprings 16 hold the sleeve 15 against moving in the casing.

When the deviceF has automatically op- -erated to catch the tubing asdescribed, it is obvious that the tubing may be released for furtherlowering by simply slightly raising it to relieve the jaws or dogs 5from their wedged -or jammed positions. They then resume their normalpositions as shown -in the drawing. The tubingand catcher may then beeither raised or lowered in the casing. They may always be raised in thecasing out of wedged rondition.

The inventionis capable of embodiment in extremely simple form, and maybe convveniently combined with a string of well tubing as described, sothat the well tubing becomes the nucleus or main frame of the ktubingcatcher device, without breaking its automatically imparting movementtoy the slips in one direction, said slips normally holding thevibratory means under compression whereby said slips are yieldablysupported, a lug extending outwardly from the tubing, a sleevesurroundingsaid tubing and yfrictionally engageable with the casing,said sleeve being provided with an inverted L- shaped slot intowhich thelug of the tubing extends. n. l

2. -In combination with a well casing and a tubing disposed therein,slips operatively engaged withthe tubing and adapted to cact with thecasing, vibratory means for automatically imparting movement to theslips in one direction, said slips normally holding the Avibratory meansunder compression act with the casing, vibratory means for the string oftubin" whereby said slips are yieldably supported,

from the tubing a lug extending outwardly said tublng an and a sleevesurrounding frictionally engageable wlth the casing, saidy sleeve beinprovided with a slot disposed longitudina ly of the tubinginto which thelug ofthe tubing extends.

3. A device of comprising an uninterrupted .string of well tubing, acoil spring surrounding the well tubing, the well tubing being providedwith a stop confining the lower end of the spring,

as a dog or slip exerting its weight upon the spring and free to movelengthwise of the string of tubing under urge of the spring, the springbeing normally somewhat compressed, and means upon the string serving toforce the dog or slip outwardly coincident 'with an abrupt drop orlowering of the string of tubing; atubular member bein provided andsurrounding the string of tu ing and exerting its weight upon thespring, the slip or dog being connected with the tubular member.

4. Ay device-of the character disclosed, comprising an uninterruptedstring of well tubing, a coil spring surrounding the well tubing, thewell tubing being provided with a stop confining the lower end of thespring, a dog or Aslip exerting its wei ht upon the spring and free tomove lengt wise of the string of tubing under urge of the spring, thespring being normally somewhat com-y pressed, an'd means upon the stringserving to force the dog or slip outwardlycoincident `with an abruptdrop or lowering of b9 in provided and surrounding the string of tuingand exerting its weight upon the the character disclosed,`

a tubular ymember be-` spring, the slip or dog beingdconnected with thetubular member; in combination with` a well casing within which thetubing is disposed; the relative arrangement and construction of partsmeing such that upon abrupt drop or lowering of theV tubing the dog orslip will be engaged with the casing to prevent further drop or loweringoi the tubin y ai device of the character disclosed comprisinganuninterrupted string of we tubing, a coil spring surrounding the welltubing, the well tubing being provided with a stop confining the lowerend of the spring, a dog or sli exerting its weight upon the spring andreel to move lengthwise of the string of tubing under urge of thespring, the spring being normally somewhat compressed, and means uponthe. string serving to force the do vor slip outwardly coincident withan a rupt drop or lowering of the string of tubing; a weight memberbeing provided and exerting its weight upon the spring, the slip or dogbeing connected with the last named member; in combination with a wellcasing within which the tubing is disposed; the relative arrangement andconstruction of parts being such that 1 upon abrupt drop or lowering ofthe tubing the dog or slip will be engaged-with the' casing to preventfurther drop or lowering of the tubing.

- In testimony whereof, I have vsigned my Y name to this Aspecificationin' the presence of two subscribing witnesses. s

` WILLIAM H. MCKISSICK.

Witnesses:

J". C. STILLMAN. J. D. McIN'rYRn. i f

